


Something To Look Forward To

by Ulan



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Confessions, Gladio Week 2020, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Verse 1, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27918559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ulan/pseuds/Ulan
Summary: Going around the ruined streets of Insomnia, they stumble upon a familiar place.Written for Gladio Week - Day 1: Memory | Finding something unexpected | "Before the end, there's something I want to get off my chest."
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 10
Kudos: 32
Collections: Gladio Week





	Something To Look Forward To

**Author's Note:**

> Gladio Week was supposed to be just mostly photos and short ficlets, but this went longer than I had planned ^^;
> 
> This fic is set [in this specific spot in Insomnia](https://twitter.com/bestboyignis/status/1336305736662466561?s=19). I don't know why I am so fond of this place.

They stood in front of the ruined sushi place. Their shoes scrunched roughly against the rubble, and all around them were larger pieces of debris. It was a wonder the door and its full sign were still intact, and Gladio told Ignis as much. 

"Remember when I brought you here?" he asked, almost as an afterthought. "Right before we left Insomnia."

A small smile played on Ignis' lips at the memory. "Charming place," he said, "and a brilliant find. I remember we enjoyed their sushi, and that fresh oyster they had was just divine." 

"Yeah. Great stuff, for sure..." 

Gladio couldn't help the way his voice trailed off, losing himself to the memories. Those days in this city seemed so long ago, days when they thought they were so busy and saddled with their responsibilities, they could hardly fit anything else. They put off so many things, but looking back from where they now were, Gladio wished they had allowed themselves more indulgences. 

"Listen, Iggy," he said, after some thought. He cleared his throat, which he knew got Ignis' attention. "Before the end, there's something I want to get off my chest."

Somewhere off to the side, Noct and Prompto were doing their own reminiscing. Prompto laughed and took a photo of something on some rundown wall, while Noct stood by, a rueful smile on his still so oddly aged face. 

Ignis turned his head to where he must sense Gladio's presence. "What is it?"

Really, looking at them all now, Gladio thought about how, despite many things changing, so many things still also felt the same. The man standing beside him might be a decade older, as Gladio himself was, and their scars were testaments to everything they had been through. But he was also the same man Gladio left Insomnia with for the sake of duty all those years ago, and they stayed together throughout it all. Standing side by side like this now, close to the end, Gladio was struck by how much the other man meant to him. 

He took a deep breath. "Back then, when I asked you out for dinner? I had… wanted that to be like a date."

There was something to be said about the long years. Maybe had they been younger, Ignis would have acted surprised, denied it, or said something to let the moment pass quickly. Such was their way, back when they took it upon themselves to put "the greater mission" above everything else. 

But they weren't young anymore, and even Gladio, for all the nerves he felt in his younger years whenever he was around the other man, saw eventually that something undeniably grew between them throughout the years. It might even have already been there even before they left Insomnia many, many years ago. 

Ignis' voice was soft when eventually, he said, "Oh, Gladio." 

And somehow, it was all so clear—what could have been, what they had missed. They had always been good friends, and they went out on the regular—casual lunches, late dinners. Some days Gladio had to wait for Ignis to finish work at the Citadel until late in the evening, but that had never been an issue, at least not for Gladio. He wondered if Ignis knew. 

Suddenly he saw them at the bar of that restaurant again, this time picking at things from the same plate, laughing at a story they were taking turns to tell. 

"I guess…" he said, something clenching in his chest as watched the scene play before his eyes, "that and all the other times we went out, you know? All those new places we tried out... it would have been so nice. I just didn't know how to invite you out and _make_ them into dates." Gladio rubbed at the back of his head as he huffed out a tired laugh. "I wish we at least had one date, though—wish I had gotten to know what dating you'd be like, before… well, before everything went to shit."

Insomnia falling, hiding Noct, escorting him to Altissia where… and then later, losing him to the Crystal, the world slowly falling into darkness and they had to rally what people they still had remaining. Really, it was just… a lot. Somehow, tending to a timid romance did not feel so appropriate, and before Gladio knew it, the Crownsguard needed its new captain, and ten years had passed.

"When this is over, let's try it."

The offer came so unexpectedly, Gladio had to check if he heard the words correctly, or at all. 

"Come again?" he asked. "Let's try what?"

"Dating." 

Gladio's brows shot up to his hairline, but there was no denying the jump in his heartbeat. "Yeah?" 

"Sure." And with true Ignis pragmatism, the man added, "If we both survive this, that is."

That brought them back to the current moment for sure. "Way to kill the mood, Iggy," Gladio complained, although his heart was still beating faster than it should be given his age, where they were, what they were about to do. 

Much as he would have liked to prod the other further, they couldn't stay long there. Eventually Noct called them to move out. They made their way out slowly out of that alley, with Noctis and Prompto still ahead, Gladio and Ignis trailing behind. 

"Gladio," Ignis suddenly said, his voice low and kept still just between the two of them. He was turned to where he could hear Noctis' footsteps, both of them still tuned in to their charge. Even so, Ignis said, "A lot will happen, as we both know. It is not something we could change, though the gods know we have tried. It's good… to still have good things waiting."

Somehow they were there again, thinking about that prophecy Ignis only told Gladio about once, but one neither of them liked to dwell on for very long, though they tried to find ways to go against it. It was too painful, and felt to them both too much like failure, despite what it was meant to do for Eos. 

"For what it's worth," continued Ignis. "All those years ago—me, too. I wanted to. It's just that--"

"Iggy. I know." Ignis needed not say more. Voice rough, chest tight—with happiness, with sadness, with regret for all that they had let pass and all still that was to come—Gladio could only tell him: "We have something to look forward to—at least there will be that."

**Author's Note:**

> Yell at me at Twitter/Tumblr @bestboyignis


End file.
